European Union (Cruenta Humanitas)
In 2036 the European Union as it currently exists was dissolved, with France and Germany (along with others including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Sweden) forming a fully integrated New European Union as had previously been advocated, leaving the other states to fend for themselves. For about eleven years the NEU functioned as a state in its own right, but by as early as 2037 there had been calls by many in the NEU to once again attempt a ‘United States of Europe’ and plans were drawn up for a European Federation to begin in 2039, with joining states progressively ceding autonomy over the course of a decade. However, the plans proved too radical and the signing of the treaty was delayed until 2042 whilst a new treaty was drawn up. The new treaty allowed for a two tier system of membership – a fully integrated Core beginning with just the former NEU, and a Periphery made up of states who would act as part of the same economy, follow the same foreign policy and share the same military but ultimately retain autonomy until (if ever) they wished to join the Core states. Having learnt the lessons taught by the collapse of the EU, aspiring states had to prove they would be able to contribute to, and not detract from, the Federation. This resulted in a number of unions, wherein ailing states were absorbed by or joined up with their neighbours. A total of four union states have joined the Federation – Iberia (including Spain, Portugal and Andorra), the Baltic and Balkan Union States and Switzerland/Lichtenstein. In 2050, peripheral nations ceased to exists, since all of them were fully annexed to the new union. Despite the re-unification of the NEU with the remaining European states during the 2040s, it remained divided along North/South lines till the late 2070s – the North being wealthy, stable and fairly easy to inhabit, the South having had to deal with a vast influx of refugees from collapsing African countries (partially resulting in a population 150 million higher than predicted in the early 21st century) whilst struggling to cope with environmental pressures of its own. However, the influx of immigrants and the economic boom throughout much of the former Soviet Bloc stoked up by a resurgent Russia has kept Europe from stagnating as had been suggested by trends in the early 21st century. Centre-left policies tend to dominate and have resulted in a resilient welfare system and brilliant public services – most notably in the fields of law enforcement, healthcare and transport. The EU leads in the fields of medical science, delicate engineering (it was the first state to commercialise nuclear fusion) and is tied with the USA in the space race – the two states worked together to erect the first orbital elevator off the coast of Brazil. Its administrative capital lies at the heart of one of the world’s largest conurbations, stretching from Paris to Koln. The European Federation has established favourable relations and cooperates extensively with a great number of the other global powers including the Russian Federation, the USA, the East Asian Association, the Gulf Coalition and to a lesser extent the African Union. Category:Cruenta Humanitas Category:Countries (Cruenta Humanitas)